Bernie Ecclestone has spoken with team principals before this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix as speculation mounts that the future of Formula One will be built around just eight teams running three cars each.

Indeed Ecclestone, F1’s chief executive, fuelled the speculation himself when, prior to going to the paddocks, he said a decision regarding a 24-car grid was likely to be made by the middle of next month.

“We’ll know after the next two or three races,” he said. “It’s always been on the cards that if we lose up to three teams then the other teams will run three cars.

“I think we should do it anyway. I would rather see Ferrari with three cars, or any of the other top teams with three cars than having teams that are struggling.” Asked whether the new arrangement was in the pipeline he replied: “Oh yeah, for sure.”

The two smallest teams in the paddock, Marussia and Caterham, are already fighting for survival. And two other teams, Sauber and Lotus, are also struggling to stay within a flawed business model, with no agreement to cap costs, funds unevenly distributed and the majority shareholders – the private equity firm CVC – making a profit. The truth is that all teams are finding life in F1 more difficult than they once did, and that includes even the big four of Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren.

When asked whether anything could be done to help struggling teams, Ecclestone replied: “I’ve been around – most people say too long – but long enough to know there are always people at the back of the grid.”

When Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, was asked on Thursday about the possibility of teams running three teams he said: “That’s a lot of work for the teams. If one car is so strong next year, you could have no other cars on the podium, which isn’t so good.

“We’ve always had smaller teams. It’s a good thing we have them, there’s a lot of personalities. Obviously it would be nice if they didn’t have such big struggles and they could be more competitive. But that’s always been the case in Formula One.”

Speaking at the launch of a new sponsorship deal with the whisky manufacturers Johnnie Walker – Ecclestone also announced that the controversial double points initiative, which will be used for the final race in Abu Dhabi in November, was likely to be dropped for next year. He also suggested that the complex task of driving in F1 was going to get even harder following the recent ban of drivers receiving advice over the radio from their teams.

He said: “I think we might make their life more difficult. There is now likely to be further changes regarding telemetry.”

But Felipe Massa has added his voice to those concerned about the ban, claiming it could lead to a “big accident”. The Williams driver: “For me it’s a little bit funny that they change this type of thing in the moment. It’s not the correct moment. Maybe they changed it because they spoke to the old drivers too much.

“In some areas I think it’s fine. If the team tells you not to use the tyres so much in corner five because you’re using them too much compared to your team-mate, it’s OK not to say that. This is not a problem. But you have so many things that we do in the car, that if you don’t do maybe you put too much temperature in the rear brakes because the temperature gets too high, and then you just have a fire in the car. Maybe you could have a big accident.”

Hamilton himself appeared in favour of the move. He said: “I am excited about the new challenge. It’s like going back to my karting days.

“Things like the formation lap; we are going to have to remember a lot of things without being told – that’s a real challenge. It means there are more balls in the air we have to catch and we are already catching quite a lot.”